TAMPA, Fla. — According to Tampa Bay area mother Hana Elnagar, the last time she heard from her five kids was on October 10.
"I don't know nothing about my kids after they bombing the area they supposed to be stay[ing] in," she said.
Thursday, she said that what started as a trip to visit their grandparents in Gaza with their father has turned into a nightmare of worry and confusing reports on their whereabouts.
"From that time until now, I tried to call, tried to do everything to try to know at least where is my kids," she said.
Elnagar shared her plea at a press conference for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Florida (CAIR).
Her attorney, Hasan Shibly, told the media that they've seen a double standard when it comes to resources for Americans trapped in Gaza.
"Let our hearts ache equally when a Jewish child or a Muslim child is injured. These are children. These are god's creation. You cannot honor the creator without honoring his creation," he said.
And the Executive Director of CAIR, Imam Abdullah Jaber, added that this double standard has been coupled with a dangerous rise in anti-Muslim sentiment.
"Let me start off by saying this: we're fielding and receiving and witnessing the highest level of anti-Muslim sentiments that we have seen. Even more than post 9/11," he said.
The group is now calling on the federal government to intervene and help find Elnagar's kids.
So that instead of showing their pictures, she can hold them close again.
